


A Ranger's Fall

by Sarigar31



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28830990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarigar31/pseuds/Sarigar31
Summary: The undead army is approaching and Nathanos is readying himself to join the Rangers in their defense of Quel'thalas
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	A Ranger's Fall

The air had a faint, fetid smell to it and the animals paced nervously in their pens. Nathanos, the only human to achieve the rank of Ranger Lord of the Farstriders of Silvermoon hurriedly ran from pen to pen, letting the frightened animals loose. He had raised them all and had a bond with them, but he knew letting them run loose would give them the best chance at survival.

“Here, let me help you.”

Nathanos turned at the voice, startled to hear it. He saw the young man, his cousin who looked so much like he did when he was younger.

“What are you doing here?” he growled. “You should be with your parents heading east.”

“They’re at Corin’s Crossing by now. What about you?” he asked. “I can’t leave you here alone. I want to help you fight these monsters off.”

“I’m not staying to fight. These things can have the farm for now. I’ll rebuild it when we beat them off. As soon as I have the animals freed, I’ll be riding fast and hard to Quel’thalas to join the Farstriders. As Ranger Lord it’s my duty to fight with them to defend their land.”

“Let me come with you! I want to fight these things. You and the Ranger General have trained me. I can help you!”

“Stephon you’ve barely mastered the basics. You wouldn’t last in a real battle. Besides, who will make sure your parents get to safety?”

“But –”

“No. I won’t hear any excuses. I can travel faster alone. Get on your horse and get your family to safety. From what I hear, there’s an army coming and the two of us won’t stop it.”

The young man looked hurt. He wanted to be a knight and Nathanos and Sylvanas trained him in swordplay, but he wasn’t ready. Nathanos had lost both parents years ago, and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing this young man who was like a brother to him. Nathanos hugged him fiercely, reluctant to let him go.

“I—” Stephon sighed deeply. “I’m afraid I’ll never see you again.”

“I promise we’ll see each other again,” he said, looking into his cousin’s eyes. “I’ll be safe in Quel’thalas. There are magical wards there and an army that’s seen a lot of combat. When this is over, you can help me rebuild the farm.”

Stephon nodded glumly; his shoulders slumped in defeat. He turned slowly and mounted his horse, who was prancing nervously. Nathanos nodded as he spun his horse around and headed to the road.

“‘Til we meet again!” Stephon yelled and waved as he urged his horse forward.

“’Til we meet again,” Nathanos echoed, waving farewell to his cousin. He stood for a few minutes watching the fading figure of Stephon disappear down the road to safety, then returned to the task at hand.

A few hours later Nathanos went upstairs one last time. He stopped and looked at the bathroom with the tub that his mother had been so enamored of. He smiled at the memories of her reaction the first time she saw one at the guild house, then sobered as he realized he hadn’t heard anything from the guild since Arthas slaughtered the citizens of Stratholme. He entered his room and changed clothes, shedding the rough spun farmer’s clothes and donning the green and brown clothing of a ranger. Over the soft clothing he put on leather armor, inhaling the familiar smells of leather and the oils that kept it in shape. He grabbed his black bow, a gift from Sylvanas in his first year of training and slung it on his back with the quiver of arrows. His axes were next, and he slid the shafts into the rings on his belt.

He exited his house with a heavy heart and closed the door, perhaps for the last time. This was his home, and he was being driven from it by the man who had once been his prince; a man whose responsibility had been the safety of the people living in the kingdom. The same man who slaughtered every man, woman and child in Stratholme, then ran to Northrend and came back a hero for killing a demon, only to kill his own father and usurp his throne.

His musings were interrupted by the barking of his dogs, whose parents had been pups of his original dogs Moose and Brutus. The smell of rot and decay was strong, and he saw the shambling forms of what had been people. His horse reared and neighed in terror, and Nathanos drew one of his axes and cut the reins to let the horse escape.

“Damn,” he exclaimed. “I thought I had more time.” Years of training kept him calm and let him assess the situation. There weren’t many here; this was probably just a scouting group, and he should be able to take them out, then run away. He unslung his bow and nocked an arrow, then loosed it. The dogs were harrying the creatures, keeping them from attacking him as he loosed arrow after arrow into them. He felt his heart beat faster as he felled the foul things, then breathed easier as the last one fell. He looked at his hounds and winced as their wounds oozed a sickly green pus. They weren’t severely injured, but the ooze worried him.

He looked up in time to see more loping his way, and the dogs once again attacked while he emptied his quiver into them. As the last of his arrows struck its target, one of his dogs let out a yelp of pain and then was silent. He looked to see the torn form of the dog lying still on the ground, his cousin barely moving as well. With a savage yell he cast aside his bow and drew his axes, vowing revenge for his loyal hounds.

He charged forward, swinging his axes viciously at the ghouls left standing. The sharp edges of his axes cleaved through the undead, rotting flesh as their claws tore at his armor. His stomach roiled at the stench of flesh that had been rotting for days and weeks as the bodies piled up around him. Green, viscous ooze covered the ground around him, and his feet slipped more than once.

Wave after wave of undead assaulted him and his arms burned in exhaustion. Several times he tried to escape, but there were too many, and he beat them down again. His armor was covered in green ichor and his own red blood. His breathing was ragged, and he gulped air when he could get a break between waves. He pulled his axe from the caved in skull of one of these creatures and saw the break he had been looking for.

He stumbled away from the pile of dead things and grabbed his bow. His throat ached and was as dry as parchment, but he could get a drink when he got away. His limbs were aching and needed rest, but he knew they had to keep working to get him away. He ran for the road, knowing that would be the fastest way out. Once he was away, he could go off the road and into the forests. He heard the grunts and cries of the creatures behind him and he turned to see how much time he had before they got to him.

He was happily surprised to see that they were slowing down, taking time to feast on their former brethren. There was a large one, though, that was plodding towards him. It was a hideous creature that looked as if it were sewn together from several different bodies. It had extra arms that carried various weapons, and its large gut was only partially held together by sinew stitching. It glared at him and grunted, swatting the smaller ghouls away.

“Ramstein hungers for flesh!” it bellowed and started running toward him.

Nathanos turned and ran, his muscles once again finding the energy to do his bidding. He looked over his shoulder once again and saw he was putting distance between himself and the abomination. His lungs burned and he desperately needed water, but he thought he had a chance. Once he got away from these monsters he would head north and be with his love in a couple of days. Once this was over, he would make his love for her known to the world. No more hiding his feelings. Politics be damned. He just had to get –

He gasped in agony as a grappling hook shot through him from behind. He tried to keep running but was jerked backward by a chain that ran through his body and connected to the hook. What little breath was left in him was forced out as his back collided with a wall of flesh, and he was overcome by the stench of the abomination. His stomach emptied itself and he saw large amounts of blood on the ground. He saw the creature lift one arm and bring it crashing down onto him, cracking his ribs.

 _This is how it ends,_ he thought as he tried to get up and run away. _I should have been with her, defending Quel’thalas._ The abomination began raining blows down on Nathanos, and all he could do was try to fend off the blows. He couldn’t get to his knees, let alone his feet. The ghouls had gathered around, watching. Those who got too close were knocked away by this creature…this Ramstein. He felt his body breaking with each massive blow; blood was freely flowing from his mouth. He closed his eyes, wishing for an end to the torture.

His body bounced off the ground as Ramstein pounded it, and he opened his eyes for the last time. She was there. Long, pale, golden hair, blue eyes…perfection. Her voice was music to his ears, her skin soft and warm. He saw her crying, and his heart ached with the love he felt for her as it struggled to beat its last.

“Sylvanas…my love…I’m sorry…”

The stench of rotting flesh filled the air as the Ranger General looked upon the great army approaching Quel’thalas. Her eyes strained to find the lone figure she knew would be running ahead of the army. He _had_ to be coming; he promised he would join her. He was too good to let this mob kill him.

But he wasn’t there.

She closed her eyes, wondering what had happened. _Did he find himself cut off_ , she pondered, _so he went to the east?_ _No. He would have ridden a griffon north to join me. Did he stay with his family? Why isn’t he here? He knows I need him._ Her heart ached, fearing the worst.

“Look at the size of that army,” a voice interrupted her thoughts.

“We’re safe behind these walls,” she said in a reassuring voice. “We have the advantage here, and even if they do breach this wall, we know these forests and will whittle them down, then they’ll have to deal with the second wall. It will be a long, hard fight but they will be defeated.”

_And when this is over, I swear I will find you, Nathanos Marris. Dead or alive I will find you. I love you too much to let you just vanish like this._

If anyone saw the tear running down her face, they had the good grace to say nothing about it.


End file.
